A critical authentication bypass vulnerability (CVE-2025-2747) has been identified in Kentico Xperience CMS, affecting versions through 13.0.178. Rated 9.8 (CRITICAL) on the CVSS scale, this vulnerability allows attackers to bypass authentication mechanisms via improper handling of password authentication in the Staging Sync Server component. Organizations using affected versions should apply patches immediately or disable the Staging Service as a temporary mitigation.
Technical Analysis of the Vulnerability
The vulnerability exists in the Staging Sync Server component of Kentico Xperience, specifically in how it handles authentication for the “None” server type. Security researchers at watchTowr Labs discovered that the flaw allows authentication bypass through two distinct methods: exploiting hash-based password verification (WT-2025-0006) and leveraging a logical flaw in the WSE3 library’s SendNone password option (WT-2025-0011).
According to the NVD description, the vulnerability allows attackers to control administrative objects through the authentication bypass. The watchTowr researchers noted in their technical analysis that this vulnerability meets critical severity criteria due to its potential impact.
Proof of Concept and Exploitation Details
While full exploit details are available in the watchTowr research, the core vulnerability stems from improper handling of authentication tokens in the WebServiceAuthorization class. Researchers have provided detection scripts on GitHub to help organizations identify vulnerable systems.
A sample malicious SOAP request exploiting WT-2025-0006 would include specially crafted security headers that trigger the authentication bypass. The vulnerability becomes particularly dangerous when chained with post-authentication vulnerabilities, potentially leading to complete system compromise.
Impact Assessment and Affected Systems
The vulnerability affects Kentico Xperience versions through 13.0.178 when the Staging Service is enabled and configured with username/password authentication. While the Staging Service is disabled by default, organizations using this feature are at immediate risk of unauthorized administrative access.
Successful exploitation could allow attackers to gain control over CMS administrative functions, modify content, and potentially access sensitive data. The critical severity rating reflects the potential for complete system compromise without requiring any authentication credentials.
Mitigation and Patch Information
Kentico has released patches in versions 13.0.173 (for WT-2025-0006) and 13.0.178 (for WT-2025-0011). Security teams should immediately update to the latest version available. For organizations that cannot patch immediately, disabling the Staging Service provides temporary protection.
Additional monitoring recommendations include watching for unusual SOAP requests to ‘/CMSPages/Staging/SyncServer.asmx’ and unexpected administrative actions. Security teams should also review logs for any suspicious activity that might indicate attempted exploitation.
Security Team Recommendations
For blue teams, this vulnerability requires immediate attention due to its critical nature and ease of exploitation. Red teams should note this as a potential avenue for initial access during penetration tests, particularly against organizations using Kentico Xperience for content management.
Threat intelligence teams should monitor for exploit development in underground forums and potential weaponization in exploit frameworks. The discovery highlights the risks of using obsolete libraries like Microsoft Web Services Enhancement 3.0, as noted by researchers.
Conclusion and Additional Resources
CVE-2025-2747 represents a serious threat to organizations using Kentico Xperience CMS. The critical severity rating underscores the importance of immediate patching. Security teams should review their Kentico deployments and apply available updates without delay.
For more information, refer to the NVD entry or the original watchTowr research. Additional authentication bypass vulnerabilities can be found through Acunetix’s vulnerability database.
